The Hobbit - Battle of the Five Armies

Started by mirth, July 28, 2014, 05:41:56 PM

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mirth

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Ubercat

No doubt it will shit, like the first 2.  :'(
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Mr. Bigglesworth

Part of me looks forward to it, part of me cringes.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
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TheCommandTent

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bayonetbrant

I'm totally down with the moveis as movies, and not as recreations of the books.

There was no chance in hell of them ever making the movies up to the exacting standards of all the different beloved and re-read-for-the-hundredth-time interpretations of the books.  But on balance, they're a lot more gooder than they crapper.
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Sir Slash

I was greatly disappointed in both films the first time I watched them. But after a second or third time... not too bad. They're just not the books or the LOTR films. Or I'm just so desperate for anything Tolkien that I'll surrender eventually.
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Martok

Not happy with the movie title -- if nothing else, it's a rather major spoiler for those who haven't read the book -- but overall I'm looking forward to it. 




Quote from: Sir Slash on July 29, 2014, 11:30:48 AM
I was greatly disappointed in both films the first time I watched them. But after a second or third time... not too bad. They're just not the books or the LOTR films. Or I'm just so desperate for anything Tolkien that I'll surrender eventually.
I'd say this sums up my feelings on the subject as well. 

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Silent Disapproval Robot

Just a few days ago Cracked.com posted a write-up on why The Hobbit movies weren't very good. 

Quote#5. The Hobbit Production Diaries Show That Peter Jackson Is Tired and Old
When The Lord of the Rings came out, it totally changed my understanding of what movies could be and why I should go to the theater. It means just as much to me as Star Wars means to people of the previous generation -- and like the original Star Wars, learning that it isn't real doesn't diminish the magic, because the effort that went into making each scene absolutely perfect actually makes the movie even more mythic. The extended-edition "appendices" found on the extended-edition DVDs are the gold-standard for special features, in my mind. Those are some of my favorite movies, and when you watch the interviews with the cast and crew, you can tell that they had as much fun making these movies as I had watching them. They also went completely insane, which should become totally clear in this video around the time the guy making chainmail starts threatening the gagged Smurf doll on his desk.




So, naturally, I checked out the special features, to see if they could explain why this movie is that thing it is and ... well, here are some quotes, taken totally at random, from the production diaries and "The Appendices" found only on the extended Blu-ray:

"This is a nightmare." -Peter Jackson

"I asked Peter Jackson if he was going to do The Hobbit and he said, 'No, I'm not interested in doing that.'" -Elijah Wood.

"[This movie] made me feel like I should stop acting." -Sir Ian McKellen


Sure, all those lines are said as jokes -- but it's the only type of joke anyone is making. If you read between the lines, it's clear that the pre-production for The Hobbit was going great -- until Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hell Boy) had to leave. So much money was invested that Jackson had to take over despite not wanting to at all -- seriously, they mention how Jackson isn't interested in this series, like, 15 goddamn times. Which is probably why his motivational speech on the first day is delivered with the enthusiasm of a man who just found out he has to fumigate his garage:

"For a long time I thought that going back to the amazing experience of Lord of the Rings would be a good idea. But, ultimately, I've come around, because films are stressful and hard to make ... if somebody came up to me and said, 'You know, we can carry on pre-production for another six weeks,' I would just say, 'No, no, hell no, let's just start shooting.'"

This totally explains why these movies are so disappointing: Both Hobbit movies so far have been imaginative and almost good interpretations and expansions of the source material, but are held back by lazy visual effects (due to the shortened pre-production time that makes the level of care put into the first film impossible -- kinda like what happened with King Kong) and an apparent inability to edit out extraneous bullshit (because editing is emotionally exhausting, and Jackson looks like he's on the verge of tears in every scene he's in).

I mean, I'm still going to see the new one when it comes out. And so are you, don't fucking lie to me. But at least now we know why we're going to leave the theater feeling like our souls just went through a cheese grater.



http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-behind-the-scenes-features-that-show-why-movies-went-wrong/

Pinetree

Jackson really needs to have some fun and make Bad Taste 2...
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Mr. Bigglesworth

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 30, 2014, 05:40:56 PM
Just a few days ago Cracked.com posted a write-up on why The Hobbit movies weren't very good. 

Quote#5. The Hobbit Production Diaries Show That Peter Jackson Is Tired and Old
When The Lord of the Rings came out, it totally changed my understanding of what movies could be and why I should go to the theater. It means just as much to me as Star Wars means to people of the previous generation -- and like the original Star Wars, learning that it isn't real doesn't diminish the magic, because the effort that went into making each scene absolutely perfect actually makes the movie even more mythic. The extended-edition "appendices" found on the extended-edition DVDs are the gold-standard for special features, in my mind. Those are some of my favorite movies, and when you watch the interviews with the cast and crew, you can tell that they had as much fun making these movies as I had watching them. They also went completely insane, which should become totally clear in this video around the time the guy making chainmail starts threatening the gagged Smurf doll on his desk.




So, naturally, I checked out the special features, to see if they could explain why this movie is that thing it is and ... well, here are some quotes, taken totally at random, from the production diaries and "The Appendices" found only on the extended Blu-ray:

"This is a nightmare." -Peter Jackson

"I asked Peter Jackson if he was going to do The Hobbit and he said, 'No, I'm not interested in doing that.'" -Elijah Wood.

"[This movie] made me feel like I should stop acting." -Sir Ian McKellen


Sure, all those lines are said as jokes -- but it's the only type of joke anyone is making. If you read between the lines, it's clear that the pre-production for The Hobbit was going great -- until Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hell Boy) had to leave. So much money was invested that Jackson had to take over despite not wanting to at all -- seriously, they mention how Jackson isn't interested in this series, like, 15 goddamn times. Which is probably why his motivational speech on the first day is delivered with the enthusiasm of a man who just found out he has to fumigate his garage:

"For a long time I thought that going back to the amazing experience of Lord of the Rings would be a good idea. But, ultimately, I've come around, because films are stressful and hard to make ... if somebody came up to me and said, 'You know, we can carry on pre-production for another six weeks,' I would just say, 'No, no, hell no, let's just start shooting.'"

This totally explains why these movies are so disappointing: Both Hobbit movies so far have been imaginative and almost good interpretations and expansions of the source material, but are held back by lazy visual effects (due to the shortened pre-production time that makes the level of care put into the first film impossible -- kinda like what happened with King Kong) and an apparent inability to edit out extraneous bullshit (because editing is emotionally exhausting, and Jackson looks like he's on the verge of tears in every scene he's in).

I mean, I'm still going to see the new one when it comes out. And so are you, don't fucking lie to me. But at least now we know why we're going to leave the theater feeling like our souls just went through a cheese grater.



http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-behind-the-scenes-features-that-show-why-movies-went-wrong/

Sounds like a marketing driven business scam so they can re-edit or remake, then sell it to you again to remove the dissatisfaction. Double the blu-ray sales.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
- Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598

Mr. Bigglesworth

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
- Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598

JasonPratt

Well, they're already in preproduction for remaking the Twilight series, so sure, why not? Let Del Toro do whatever it was he wanted to do, make extra money.

Also: mental note to catch back up with Cracked again sometime soon...
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